♪ captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> glor: good evening, everyone, i'm jeff glor. the company that calls itself the world's largest arms supplier says in three days it sold over three years worth of ar-15 ammunition magazines. the company brownell apologized on-line for delays in shipping the orders. the ar-15 is the nation's most popular semiautomatic rifle, similar to the weapon used in the newtown shootings. in washington, meanwhile, the gun control debate ramped up. on "face the nation" bob schieffer spoke with national rifle association president david keane, the first time the toup has spoken since making a statement on friday. >> scheiffer: when you came on television at this news conference friday you seemed to blame the mentally ill. you seemed to blame hollywood. you seemed to blame the media,

the video game manufacturers. you did not seem to think that your policies have had anything at all to do with this. o> well, we don't think they eave. >> scheiffer: you see no responsibility. >> you know, we're living in a country, a free country which ntryle have a right to exercise their second amendment rights. we're living in a country where in the last few decades as gun ownership has increased, violent crime has fallen. thoughe have, though, in this ,ountry are, and in any country, f percentage of people who are, frankly, either evil or crazy. >> glor: the nra says existing gun laws are not being enforced. orgaret brennan has more on what the group would change, and the reaction. >> reporter: the nra is arguing for the creation of a national database of the mentally ill to prevent them from buying weapons. the nra is also lobbying to put armed guards or police in e hools. >> itsive vice president wayne

lapierre. >> if it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in our schools to protect our children, then call me crazy. i'll tell you what the american people-- i think the american people think it's crazy not to do it. gun control laws. in a cbs news poll conducted after the fatal newtown shooting, 57% of americans said that gun control laws should be more strict. that's the highest level of support in a decade. and may provide renewed support for politicians willing to challenge the powerful nra lobby. >> new york senator chuck schumer criticized the nra vice president's argument that any attempt at gun restrictions is bound to fail. >> well, i think he's so extreme and so tone deaf that he actually helps the cause of us passing sensible gun legislation in the congress. >> reporter: a number of democratic congressman have

pledged to consider reintroducing an assault weapons ban on sales of semiautomatic rifles and receipts trictions on certain ammunition. many firearm enthusiasts fear those new laws many fir many firearm enthusiasts fear those new laws and are voting shth their pocketbooks. at a denver gun show this weekend, ammunition for the ar- 15 semiautomatic rifle, the style of weapon used in the newtown attack, sold out within an hour. >> we're afraid we're not going o the able to keep our guns for our safety. and we're not doing anything wrong. >> reporter: it isn't clear yet whether the nation's second worst school shooting actually drives washington to change any gun laws. but a review by cbs news indicates that schools in at least a dozen states are looking at the nra's call to add armed officers or to allow teachers to carry weapons. >> glor: margaret brennan, thank you. there are eight days now until fhe fiscal cliff of big tax increases for most americans. and across-the-board spending

cuts in the federal budget. even with congress adjourned and president obama out of town, erme lawmakers today talked about a last minute deal. >> my own belief is what we ought to do is take speaker boehner's last offer, the president's last offer, split the difference. that would be a package of about $2.6 trillion. you couple that with the 1.1 trillion already done. that would be close to the $4 trillion we need to stabilize the debt and begin to bring it down. >> i would vote for revenues, including tax rate hikes even ugh ih i don't like them, to get a-- to save the country from becoming greece, tax rate hikes are part of the solution driven by the president. but he's going to get tax rate hikes. ratey republican colleagues, if we can protect 99% of the american public from a tax hike that is not a tax increase in my books. >> glor: with christmas just two nuys away last minute gift buyers are out. today shopper track said raturday was the busiest day of

the holiday season behind black friday. r wever a cut in spending % recast from 3.3% of growth this year to 2.5%. parts of the u.s. will get a white christmas or more. tcheer storm watches have been issued for parts of arkansas and oklahoma. california is already getting wet. carter evans has the forecast. >> reporter: it's been bad enough. cars buried if they could move at all in the midwest. in california's sierra nevada, up to five feet of snow could fall. that's great news for skiers. >> we love the snow. c reporter: not for holiday fliers. >> the only option we have is to drive. >> reporter: the most violent y beher may be yet to come. and the timing couldn't be worse. >> it's going to be happening on christmas day and while people are with their families, it looks like we're going to see a widespread severe weather ons reak across portions of the southeast and we could see multiple tornadoes. >> reporter: which concerns this meteorologist is the developing

weather pattern is much like the one that caused deadly tornadoes in alabama during the spring of 2011. this new storm could also bring snow as far south as dallas. >> this is going to be a real white christmas, not just an inch of snow. a lot of places are going to see several inches of snow if not over a foot of snow. >> reporter: one thing 00recasters can say with 100% certainty. >> it's going to be a very big travel nightmare on a very big travel day. >> reporter: carter evans, cbs news, los angeles. >> glor: it will be a waterlogged christmas across the united kingdom. ggavy rain has triggered flooding as washed out roads and aiilroad tracks. southwest england is especially drenched. up in scotland some resorted to a canoe to get around. in egypt the muslim brotherhood is claiming victory after yesterday's final round of voting on a new constitution. supporters say it was approved by 64% of voters. opposition leaders are charging fraud. official results are due tomorrow. >> a syrian government air

strike in a town near the city of homa has reportedly killed dozens. peateur video appears to show the aftermath of the attack which struck a bakery where people were lining up for their first bread in days. in damascus, meanwhile, u.n. peace envoy brahimi arrived today for more talks with president assad. in his attempt to remain in power, assad has cultivated the support of minority groups athin his ethically divided country. elizabeth palmer saw that policy at work during a recent visit to the southern town of swada. >> reporter: conflict has engulfed syria over the past months from one end of the country to the other. but so far it barely touched this town in southern syria near the border with jordan. the people who live here are a religious group that has allied itself with president assad. good afternoon. when we arrived it in town to meet the governor, syrian state media was waiting for us.

the regime is anxious to showcase this community full of official supporters willing to reinforce the party line, that the violence in syria is not a civil war but a terrorist campaign by foreign-backed extremists. so are you afraid they'll come here to your city. "of course we're afraid," the governor told me. "if the countries who support al qaeda and the jihadies don't stop, the conflict will come here." so far local authorities have kept it at bay by supporting violent crackdowns on the slightest sign of anti-regime reotest. the strategy worked because government critics in this community were always a vocal but small minority. it has made the town an island of calm-- and a magnet for refugees from the fighting all around. about 10,000 of the almost half a million people displaced inside syria have been offered shelter by the local government.

they're housed in a former tmmer camp about two miles from the center of town. "we escaped here," says this grandfather to keep our children safe. "we want peace." this young man speaks for everyone when he says, "all we want is peace." they've got it for the moment. but with the battle now under way all around the town, this small enclave of stability looks very vulnerable. elizabeth palmer, cbs news. ko glor: nuclear armed north threa can now fire rockets that put the u.s. west coast within range. that's what leaders in south korea said today. they point to this month's rocket launch putting a weather horullite into orbit. later a hallelujah chorus of ovousands. in india, angry protests over sexual assaults on women. and a congressman goes public with his struggle against weight loss. those stories when the "cbs evening news" continues.

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>> glor: protestors were back in the streets of new delhi india today, for a second day police used water canons against demonstrators who were demanding justice over the gang rape and brutal beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus. the attack may be a tipping point in india. alex rossi of our partner sky news is in haryana. >> it is a terrifying attack. a young woman is sexually molested by a gang of men outside a nightclub. the mob tears at the girl's clothes for more than 20 minutes before anyone comes to her rescue.

this incident has caused outrage in a country where sexual violence against women is rising. >> according to the latest government figures, one woman is now raped in india every 20 minutes. but alarmingly, conviction rates are continuing to fall. we went to haryana. it is a traditional farming state. it's also emerging as the rape capitol of india. shabnab is just 16. she is now under police protection because she spoke out after she was gang raped by eight men from her village. her father then committed suicide because he felt the family had been dishonored. >> i don't want the sacrifice of my father to be wasted. i decided to get them all punished so that whatever happens to me should never happen to anybody else again. >> reporter: a preference for sons and the illegal practice of female infanticide has left the stated with a badly skewed sex ratio.

in this male dominated society, there are just 830 girls to 1,000 boys. >> a lot of the sex crimes are happening. the young boys are not able to get married, especially in the northern part of india. >> in this village police are searching for a girl called muntaz, in haryana women are in short supply. increasingly they're being kidnapped from other indian states. when they find muntaz, she's badly traumatized but the 16- year-old who is from assam which is hundreds of miles away wants the world to know her story. she tells her rescuers she was forced to marry a man in this village and was beaten and raped. >> ( translated ): i was frightened all the time i couldn't go any where. it was like prison. i felt like suffocating and dying. >> reporter: muntaz has now been reunited with her family. but campaign is a warning, without tougher laws and better policing, more women will suffer.

>> glor: that was alex rossi of sky news reporting. fire swept through a market in kabul, afghanistan today. no one was killed but hundreds of shops were destroyed and millions of dollars worth of merchandise was lost. a fire official suspects an electrical short caused that blaze. next up, one congressman's battle against obesity. his own. >> happy holidays from kabul, afghanistan. i want to say i had to the fuller family and i want to wish them a merry christmas and a happy new year. [ sniffles ] [ female announcer ] for everything your face has to face. face it with puffs facial tissues. puffs has air-fluffed pillows for 40% more cushiony thickness. face every day with puffs softness. a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today.

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dulcolax stool softener doesn't make you go, it just makes it easier to go. dulcolax stool softener. make yourself comfortable. >> glor: it's the time of season when many make new year's resolution. the most common, lose weight. the cdc says more than 60% of americans are either overweight or obese. often this is a very private struggle. but one u.s. congressman is going public with his fight. he says hoping to inspire others. >> adios. >> glor: billy long ran two campaigns this fall. against his opponent, winning re-election in missouri's 7th district. and against his weight.

>> when i was running for congress, one of the questions that somebody in the media asked me, what size collar do you wear what size is your shirt collar. and i said i don't think they would ask that of a lot of people. >> glor: is that fair game? >> i don't think so. >> glor: but it wasn't just on the campaign trail. on capitol hill where long hallways make for a lot of walking, long's weight was wearing on his joints making it difficult even to move around. >> i noticed how hard it was even to get up out of a chair. that sounds funny for people at home to think my gosh, you can't get out of a chair. but i was actually getting to that point. >> reporter: long who was 320 pounds has lost 20 already. and hopes to lose at least 80 more. he's doing less by changing what he eats and more by changing when-- only between the hours of noon and 8. he's also walking 90 minutes a week. >> now you're going to have to eat this. >> glor: in his hometown of springfield, land of fish fries and pies, people have started to notice.

>> i asked him if he had lost some weight. he said he had. >> he's thinner. >> glor: gordon kinne has known him for at least 20 years. >> billy is a big man. he's a big personality. and he's a red meat steak lover and for the fact he was able to do this gave a lot of people motivation. >> glor: long knows will never be able to compete with famously fit congressman like wisconsin's paul ryan or illinois's aaron schock but he says that's not the goal. >> the end goal is to become healthier myself, and to prove to people at this stage of life that hey, we can all do it. >> glor: and no matter who many pounds he loses as a former auctioneer, will have no trouble keeping count. >> 85, 58, 90, 85, lost 85-- 85 pounds right here in the front row, 85 pounds. >> glor: impressive. very impressive. >> doesn't take much to keep you entertained. >> glor: still ahead, join the holiday sing along. no audition required.

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>> glor: finally tonight take a 271-year-old piece of choral music, add 2,000 people who love it, what do you get? a beloved christmas tradition. with tony guida, give a listen. >> ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah >> reporter: all year long people fill new york avery fisher hall to listen to music. >> ♪ hallelujah >> reporter: one night a year they come to sing. it's a christmas tradition. 2,000 people, strangers uniting as a chorus to perform one of the most familiar pieces of music in the world. handel's messiah. martin josman started this event 45 years ago.

he chose messiah for its universality. >> it had everything you could look for, melodic tunes you could hum along with, rich choruses, emotions of joy, introspection and triumph of human spirit. >> reporter: no wonder there are messiah sing alongs across america and much of the english speaking world. >> ♪ hallelujah ♪ >> ♪ hallelujah ♪ >> reporter: at a memorial church a few miles from the avery fisher hall, the chorus is smaller but the spirit is just as strong. this was rana strases first messiah. >> it felds joyous and

overwhelming. >> reporter: john herzfeld has been coming for decades as a cure for the wintertime blues. >> i think these sounds in our animal spirit we're not sure the lights are going to come back. and what can bring light back better than music. >> reporter: a message of hope, absolutely. amen. >> amen. >> glor: that is the "cbs evening news" tonight. later on cbs, "60 minutes." i'm jeff glor, cbs news in new york. i'll see you here again tomorrow night. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

the weekend storm. the treacherous conditions that caught many drivers off gua. there's not a lot we can do about it, we've tried sandbagging in the past and fruitless flood warnings still posted there is not a lot we can do about it. we tried sandbagging in the past but it is fruitless. and the heaviest showers head south, this is more on the way for christmas day. cbs 5 eyewitness news coming up next ,,,,,,,,

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